Chapter Six! Yay!

It's filler! Boo!

Never mind, though. Fillers take us places.

Thanks to all my readers, reviewers, and various trolls. I love trolls. :P

Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Please don't cut my mom. :c"

"And this card is mine now!"

AllAmericanSlurp: "It's not. I'm not talking to myself. I'm talking to an instinct that didn't fully take hold and is acting as a thought process instead."

Gg180000: Douglas playing nice was how the kids were born in the first place. ;3 Also, in the course of writing this, my mind decided to take it too far and made me think of possible kinky shit Douglas could be into based on his personality. You need to be a special kind of person to be interested by it, though. xD

j. liz. 8: If Leo so ordered it, Ysthry would have to spy. Remember, he's in charge of her will.

Anywho, who's ready for the morning after? Mr. Davenport?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."

"There are lots of things sons shouldn't imagine about their mothers, above all what it was like to become one."

Bauvard, The Prince Of Plungers

"And what if-what are you if the people who are supposed to love you can leave you like you're nothing?"

Elizabeth Scott, The Unwritten Rule

Chase

Do you know how to piss off a spider?

I do.

Ysthry and I weren't even trying to piss it off. We were just casually chilling on its web, and it decided to throw a hissy fit. Therefore, we had to shoo it off with our awesome skills – lots of spider legs flailing about – and, for good measure, I tore up its old web and made a new one.

Can I just say that shooting web thread out of your ass and building with it is fun? I spelled out a dozen cuss words just for the hell of it. I doubted anyone would be able to see them – they were just a strand wide, so everyone would likely think it was a coincidence. Ysthry rolled her many, many eyes, but didn't say anything. She was a freaking buzz kill to spy with, I swear. All she did was stand around on my web, watching the actual spider that was staring at us angrily from the ceiling. I didn't know why Leo insisted that Ysthry go with me, but whatever made him feel better.

But the conversation Douglas and Adam had kind of put a damper on things, though. I hadn't ever thought that I was adopted.

Wait, would that qualify as adoption, or just my mother – whoever she was – signing over custody?

Who cared? I was a bastard born of a one-night stand! We all were!

That meant that the next morning saw me moping about the house. Good thing it was Saturday, because I didn't quite feel like going to school. I hadn't told Bree about last night yet, so she was floating around the house like a ray of fucking sunshine due to a date she had with Owen later. It was so irritating. Why couldn't she be lost in a cesspool of unhappy thoughts like the rest of us?!

Hello: Courtesy?

Tasha kept glancing at me curiously as I ate my cereal, obviously wanting to ask what was wrong but waiting for me to bring it up myself. Something about her not wanting to be too pushy, I supposed. Leo sat on the couch, reading a book about various applications of magic throughout history, Ysthry reading over his shoulder even though I was willing to bet that she didn't care. He hadn't brought up last night despite the fact that I was sure that Ysthry had told him everything. I was glad about that. I didn't want to talk about it yet.

I didn't want to talk about it ever.

I mean, as upsetting as it was that I wasn't supposed to exist, I was more resentful than anything else. My mother gave me up? Wasn't I important to her? Did I just not matter?

I mean, what the hell, lady? I was great!

My tail lashed a bit. Who in their right mind would give up someone like me?

Or Bree, for that matter?

At least we were doing better than Adam. His mother just tossed him out like he was trash. I knew it shouldn't, but that made me feel slightly better.

Speaking of Adam, he was sitting beside me, half-listening to Bree babble about who-cared-what and studying the little paper Douglas had given him. Yahn was sitting in his lap, his yellow eyes half-closed while Adam patted his head. At the table, Mr. Davenport was arguing with Oly over why dead birds weren't great decorations to hang from the rafters.

They seem nice to me. They would drip blood everywhere.

Your input isn't required, I informed my voice.

What's the matter? Upset that your mother didn't want you? Man up, Growing Pains. You've gone this long without her. Why does it matter now?

I pinned my ears and growled, drawing curious stares from everybody. I faked a smile. "Sorry. Just thinking about an invention that I can't get to work right."

"What invention?" Mr. Davenport asked as most everybody else went back to doing their own things.

I perked my ears. "I didn't tell you?" When he shook his head, I nodded. "Then it probably wasn't your business."

Tasha shot me a look. "Watch your mouth, young man."

I gave her a thumbs up before returning to my cereal. Cheerios were floating around in the milk like tiny life preservers. I forced them below the surface with my spoon as I finally answered my voice. It just does, okay?

No, it doesn't. I swore that I heard my voice scoff. Can a thought process scoff? Well, it scoffed. You see that woman in the kitchen over there? She's more of a mother to you than your birth mother ever was. Why does the latter matter when you have a mother right here?

Holy hell, my voice was being helpful? Was that even possible? I drowned a few more Cheerios with my spoon. You're…actually right.

Of course, it scoffed again. I'm always right. You just don't listen.

I rolled my eyes and popped a spoonful of the now-soggy cereal in my mouth, feeling a bit better. Who cared who that bitch was? She didn't matter anymore. She chose to walk away, and I have a pretty nice life as it was.

So kiss my ass, other Mom!

Adam's mother, though, was another story. She had actually showed back up. So what did she want? Whatever it was, I wasn't exactly buying that she just wanted to be involved in Adam's life again. She had eighteen years to search for him, and she's just now turning up?

Granted, we were hidden for fifteen years. And Douglas had faked his own death.

Shut up! She could've tried harder!

Some grumbling sounded from upstairs, followed by Douglas rubbing his forehead as he descended to the living room. "Shut up, Oly," he huffed just as she was loudly declaring that the plumage of the dead birds would be nice to rub between someone's fingers when they were so inclined. She growled and fell silent, wincing a bit.

"Someone's in a bad mood today," Tasha pointed out from the kitchen, smiling a bit.

Douglas glared at her as he shuffled into the kitchen and poured some coffee. "I'm fine," he muttered.

A moment of silence followed before Adam cautiously started speaking. "So, Douglas…any idea where to begin looking for Sandra?"

"Who's Sandra?" Bree asked, frowning.

"I haven't even been up for thirty minutes, kid," Douglas huffed. "I'll find her later."

"Hello? Sandra? Who is she?" Bree insisted.

"Someone who's going to help Adam with a project," came the response.

Nice cover, Douglas.

"You said you'd start looking first thing in the morning," Adam pressed.

Douglas glanced at him. "Seriously? That doesn't sound like something I'd say."

Adam sighed and picked up the paper, holding it up a bit as he read it aloud. "I promise to find Sandra as soon as I wake up tomorrow. Wait, I just thought of something. You know how some alcohol is called 'spirits?' Is it because they keep ghosts in the bottles? How would you even know if you were drinking a ghost? I guess the Ghostbusters would know. Does anyone remember their phone number? Also, would –"

"Okay," Douglas interrupted amid the snickering that had erupted throughout the room. "That does sound like something I'd say."

Tasha was grinning widely as she handed a couple of pain pills to Douglas, who thanked her quietly. "You know, Douglas, alcohol doesn't solve your problems."

Douglas smiled slightly. "Neither does water."

"What problems?" Bree asked, tilting her head.

Douglas narrowed his eyes as he swallowed the pills. "Do I have 'open book' tattooed across my forehead?"

Bree rolled her eyes.

Adam cleared his throat. "So…Sandra…?"

"I'm on it," Douglas sighed.

Mr. Davenport raised his eyebrow. "Are you sure about this person helping Adam with his project?"

"Don't question me," Douglas responded dramatically. "I know what I'm doing here!"

I laid my spoon down and jumped out of my chair before climbing on top of the counter. "Hail the overlord! He who knows everything and regrets nothing!"

An apple pegged me in the chest. "Shut up, Half-Breed!" Oly snapped from the table.

I pinned my ears and growled, picking up the apple to throw it back. However, Tasha pulled on my pant leg, catching my attention. "Get down from there. You're going to leave footprints on the counter."

I sighed and climbed down, sitting in my chair and picking up my spoon again. "I'm coming after you, Oly," I declared, pointing at her with my spoon. Besides, I still had to teach Leo strategy. What better way to learn than to fight with an imp?

Oly flipped me off, rolling her eyes.

Douglas snorted a bit before gesturing at Adam. "Let's go find Sandra, I guess."

Adam stood up and followed Douglas as he headed towards the elevator. Yahn jumped onto his shoulder as Douglas pressed the button and leaned against the wall to wait. Bree, meanwhile, turned in her chair to face Leo. "Ready to learn some more today?"

Leo sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

"No," Bree answered, standing up. "Let's go!"

"Keep it down," Douglas huffed as the elevator dinged and the door opened.

"Your hangover isn't our problem," I informed him loudly as he stepped into the elevator.

Douglas opened his mouth to respond, but Bree cut him off by zipping into the elevator in less than a second and pressing the 'hold door' button. "Let's go, Leo."

Leo sighed again and closed his book, laying it on the coffee table before he stood and shuffled towards the elevator. Ysthry wrapped her tail around his arm as he crossed the room and entered the elevator after Douglas and Adam. When the doors closed, I lowered my ears. "So," I asked no one in particular, "what's going on today?"

"I have to spend the day at the office," Mr. Davenport informed me. "One of my supervisors was skimming money off of the top of the budget. Until I find a replacement, I have to handle his job."

"Fun," I answered.

Tasha shrugged. "I'm not doing anything. Want to do something with me?"

I perked my ears at her. "Like what?"

"We'll think of something," she answered.

Oly started laughing. "Little Susie home-maker wants to play with dollies!"

Tasha threw an orange at Oly, knocking the imp off of the table.

I snickered. Maybe we could throw things at Oly all day. That might be fun.

Behold, the shitty ending!

However, this filler chapter means that we're going places!

Woohoo!

So, until I actually do take it places, feel free to review. Or don't. You know I don't care. :3

And enjoy.

*Bows and exits*